Red Balloons
by Potato Jam 7
Summary: "You don't know what balloons are for?" Travis asks in mock surprise. "Um, parties?" Katie guesses. "Yeah, but you also write secrets on them. Then you let 'em go." Tratie oneshot!


**Hey! A little oneshot/drabble about Tratie for you guys:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!**

So far, Travis Stoll has been having a really suckish day.

In the morning, he finds out that his brother, Connor, "accidentally" threw out his smiley face boxers. _Then_, he had to face a pissed off Katie Gardner, who practically blows up at him because of one stupid prank. In Greek Mythology, he gets one paper cut on each finger. And then, to make everything worse, Travis realizes he's in love.

He doesn't know _why_ or _how_, but he just knows that he _is._ He knows because his stomach does a gymnastics routine every time he sees her. He knows because he starts looking at a book in Chris's drawer, _101 Pick Up Lines that Guarantee You'll Get The Girl _ for inspiration. He knows because whenever he sees her, his mind goes blank. He knows because he gets jealous every time he sees her talking to any boy. He knows because every morning he spends an abnormally long time in the shower, just do he can look better than usual for her. But most of all, he knows because whenever someone mentions the name _Katie_, he blushes so hard, it's hard to tell if he's a tomato or a human.

Travis figures he probably should've figured this "being in love" thing out more slowly. Then, the weight of being in love with your supposed arch enemy wouldn't be so heavy.

"Katie?" Travis asks, poking her shoulder as she pulls weeds from the ground around her beloved strawberries, "Why do you like gardening so much?"

Katie looks up at him for a split second. "Why do _you_ like annoying me so much?"

All of the sudden, out of the corner of his eye, Travis spots two red balloons, tied to a tree near the Ares cabin. He's pretty sure that those balloons are mean for Clarisse's surprise birthday, but the way Travis figures, Clarisse won't miss a few balloons.

"Wait here," he tells Katie, as he sprints to the tree to untie the balloons. When he gets back, he holds one out to her.

Katie pushes the balloon away. "Put them back, Travis," she orders, "You _know_ you're not supposed to have them."

Travis groans. Sometimes, Travis thinks that Katie is too much of a goody two shoes for him. He thinks that they'll never work out, and forgets he even likes her for a while. But then he sees her face, and falls back in love again.

"Clarisse won't miss it," Travis tells her, "And even if she _does_, I promise I'll take the blame."

At this, Katie stands up, and snatches the string from his hands. Travis smiles, because he loves the way she's so hostile towards him, and so gentle and kind to everyone else.

"What do you want me to do with this balloon?" Katie asks, puzzled.

"You don't know what balloons are for?" Travis asks in mock surprise. Katie rolls her eyes.

"Um, parties?" she guesses.

"Yeah, but you also use them to write secrets on. Then you let 'em go," Travis says, gesturing towards the sky, which is a pale sky blue today. He glances at Katie's face. She clearly thinks this idea is very stupid.

"If I do this, will you stop annoying me?" Katie asks. Travis nods, smirk on his face.

"Fine," Katie sighs, as Travis takes out a sharpie he conveniently had in his back pocket, and tosses it to her. Katie catches it, scribbles something on her balloon, and hands it back to him.

_I think I'm in love with Katie Gardner_, Travis scrawls in his chicken scratch on the balloon. He looks up at Katie-green eyes, staring right at him, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks as she possessively hugs the balloon close to her chest. He crosses out _think_ and writes _know_ above it. He _knows_ he's in love with Katie.

"Can I see yours?" Travis asks eagerly.

"NO!" Katie exclaims quickly, moving the balloon away from him. She instantly reddens. "I mean, it's a secret, right?"

"Oh," Travis says, "Sorry." He doesn't want to push the matter. After all, he definitely wouldn't want Katie looking at _his_ balloon. Glancing at Katie, he lets go of the string of his balloon, and Katie does the same. She stands next to Travis, shoulders touching, as they watch the red balloons dance across the sky, their ribbons tailing after them. The balloons chase each other playfully, until they float into the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Travis catches Katie smiling at him. Travis smirks, "What's wrong, Flower Power girl?"

"Oh nothing," Katie says, "Just thinking about my secret."

Travis smiles at the two red dots in the sky. "Yeah," he says, "Me too."

* * *

"Hey! Come here!" called five year old Lucy to her twin sister Amanda. Right now, they were playing Explorers in the trees in their backyard. They were supposed to be hunting for hidden treasure, but Lucy had come across something much more fascinating.

"What is it?" Amanda asked excitedly as she ran up to Lucy.

"That," Lucy said, pointing to two deflated red balloons, lying on the ground.

"So?" Amanda asked, hands on her hips, "They're just two red balloons!"

"I think they have writing on them!" Lucy whispered excitedly, "Maybe it's directions to find the treasure!"

Amanda's eyes widened as she picked up one balloon, and held it up to her face. "This one says: '_I know I'm in love with Katie Gardner'_. What does yours say?"

Lucy picked up the other balloon. "This one says: '_I think I'm in love with Travis Stoll_'"

"I don't get it," Amanda said, confused, "Stoll is our last name. But why is it on a balloon?"

Before they could answer the puzzling question, a voice rang out from the direction of their house. "MANDIE! LUCY! COME IN FOR-TRAVIS! STOP EATING THE FOOD!"

"I guess we have to go for dinner," Amanda said, sighing, as she tossed the balloon over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, tossing her balloon to the ground too. "It didn't make sense anyway."

And with that, the two girls raced to their back porch, leaving the two deflated, droopy, red balloons to rest on the dirt. _Together._

**That's the story guys! Hope you enjoyed that :)Hey, is it an only me thing that I write secrets on balloons and let them go? I've never heard anyone else doing that. Hmmm…**

**By the way, the characters Lucy and Amanda from the later part of the story are Travis and Katie's twin daughters from my fic How I Met Your Mother. Speaking of How I Met Your Mother, I'd better update that! :D**

**I also jut noticed that I switched tenses (present to past) after the line break! Sorry about that:( It's just that I feel the part after the linebreak sounds better in past tense rather than present!**

**Remember to review! :D Have an amazing day:)!**


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